Blue Giant is from director Yuzuru Tachikawa, who attempts to adapt the hugely popular manga of the same name. The film hits just around the two hour mark, shrinking down the material from the expansive Manga story. As someone not familiar with this story prior to going in, I feel as though there is a lot of context missing from this film. It boasts a breathtaking visual style and emotionally endearing characters, but lacks the depth that could have really sold the story to viewers like me who are being introduced to this world. I have so much time for stories like these, ones where they can take a subject I’m not passionate about, and engage me enough to feel all the way in on it by the end.
The plot follows Dai Miyamoto (Yuki Yamada) as he moves away from home to pursue jazz as his career in Tokyo. He aims to be the biggest musician in the world with his jazz stylings, playing the saxophone, He arrives in Tokyo without a place to live or plan for his musical rise, first on the agenda though; find a practising spot under a Tokyo bridge. Soon realising he can’t exactly live in Tokyo without a house, he turns to Shunji Tamada (Amane Okayama), a former friend who is studying in the city. While finding a home, he also finds a jazz bar nestled away in an alleyway in Tokyo. This quaint bar serves as the HQ of his soon to be jazz band. Dai sets out to build said jazz band to take over the music scene in Tokyo. Along his search, he meets Yukinori Sawabe (Shôtarô Mamiya), a pianist who is starting to make waves in the jazz world. Sawabe wows Dai in a guest performance that he is involved in with a group of older jazz musicians. After a little bit of convincing, Dai gets Sawabe in on his band, instead of touring with the older band Sawabe just played with. Quickly realising they aren’t much of a jazz band without a drummer, Dai recruits Tamada in as an amateur drummer.
The rise of the new jazz band, JASS is on as they strive to perform in the biggest jazz club in Tokyo, So Blue.
The main plot is a standard rise to fame through hardships and personal strife. What could have made the film hit a lot harder is the depth of emotion we’re let in on with the three members. We get glimpses of it, allowing us to fill in the gaps. I think those familiar with the story would find this a lot easier to do, knowing the inbetween and understanding their struggles.
One character in particular that I feel seemed wasted was the owner of the small jazz bar. She worked everyday with the band and at one point gets emotional with the band. This bit of emotion clues you in that she has a lot of history with jazz in Tokyo, history that we’re not privy to. Obviously I know if we spent hours on each character then the film would never end, but maybe the story just doesn’t quite suit the single film adaptation. It maybe could have been a great series or collection of films.
Regardless of the story, the film is really next level in the visuals department, with such purposeful shots, thoughtfully placed lighting and fluid movements. Each shot feels so thought through from character movements to landscapes. The environments are full and feel alive without appearing too crowded. There is a perfect blend of the warm lights of the interiors or daytime, to the bright blues of the Tokyo night life. My only teenie tiny issue with the look is some of the 3D modelling, which I think only stands out because of how good the rest of the film looks.
During the jazz performances, the film feels like it takes on the song, moving and changing with the emotion of the songs. We really span the breadth and width of animation during these songs, from hand drawn to watercolour and stunningly vivid. I could have watched these sections all day.
Accompanied by the impressive jazz music, composed by jazz musician Hiromi Uehara. She arranges pieces that feel like they both are inspired by and inspire the animation. There is such a flow between them that really puts you in the moment during any musical performance.
Outside of the diegetic music, the score of the film is also really effective, heightening emotion and tension especially during montage scenes.
While I feel a bit unfulfilled by the entire package of Blue Moon, I think what we do get is really worth seeing and the conclusion of the film delivers both a visual and emotionally effective ending. WIth more time, I think this could have really stuck the landing to be something of a jazz revolution. It could have been a jazz world that we live in.
I am happy to see films like this get a release over here and we get to experience the styles of storytelling that international filmmakers express. I hope they find the success they deserve and we see them shown in bigger scale for less limited runs.
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